Cooperative Learning

Being able to preform technical skills ... are valuable, but of little use if the person cannot apply those skills in cooperative interaction with other people ...

 (An Overview of Cooperative Learning, Johnson & Johnson)

As a parent, my goal is to prepare my children for life: to be active community members contributing according to their personal strengths. My goal as a teacher cannot be less. Research has demonstrated that cooperative learning benefits students not only in achievement, but in positive relationships and self-esteem as well. The key elements of cooperative learning are Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Interpersonal Skills, and Group Processing (Johnson & Johnson).

How that will look.

The classroom will be set-up so group members can interact without interfering with other groups.

 Small-group Boundaries

• Noise-noise level for group work is 2; noise level for class discussion is 3
• Roles-each team member will be assigned a role and required to fulfill the responsibilities of that role
• Movement-exceptions to the regular boundaries will be noted in the Procedures section of the unit project

Interpersonal skills will be taught with direct instruction.

• Communication/Listening
• Conflict resolution
• Constructive Criticism

 Interdependence: will be evaluated through the following

• Participation checklist-to evaluate student cooperation, leadership, communication, conflict resolution, productivity
• Role responsibility-students are assigned roles (i.e. Recorder, Speaker, Facilitator)
• Individual progress for all team members produces team bonus points

Individual Accountability: will be evaluated through the following

• Individual summative assessments
• Evaluate individual role performance (Participation checklist)

Group Processing: students will describe the strenghts and weaknesses of each aspect of the Unit in a

• Unit evaluation
• Group evaluation
• Peer and self evaluation

Troubleshooting

• Team members not getting along-do not move, but provide extra guidance on interpersonal skills. This is a learning opportunity. Incorporate rewards for most productive teams/groups.
• Misbehavior-Include behavior issues in daily participation check list.
• Noise-quiet the room and remind of the voice level allowed.
• Absences-share responsibilities of absent student; group members make notes to catch students up on missed content.